


The Matchmaker

by Bizarra



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 10:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bizarra/pseuds/Bizarra
Summary: Someone has had enough and takes the problem into their own hands.





	The Matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

> Star Trek Voyager and it’s characters are owned by CBS/Paramount. I don’t own them. I’m just playing in the universe.

_ They were fighting again. This was the third time this week and, frankly, she was getting tired of it. There was a time when they rarely argued and, if they did, it was quickly resolved. Now, their fights were starting to affect not only them, but the rest of the crew. They may not have noticed it, but she did. The unrest was palpable. It was time, past time, she did something about it. They were her family, and her sole reason for existence was to protect her family. They were in a quiet area of space, so, she thought, it was now or never. Time to mend fences, as the saying went, and make her family whole and happy again. _

  
  
  


Promptly at 0604, a fresh cup of hot, black coffee and a pink and yellow-tipped rose materialized on the desk in the Ready Room. At 0605, Captain Kathryn Janeway walked into her ready room, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. She walked around her desk, thinking she could really use a cup of …  She stopped in her tracks. Coffee. 

 

Kathryn cocked her head slightly, looking at both the cup and the flower, and glanced back at her door, then back at her desk. She lay a hand lightly over the liquid, testing its temperature. Hot. Definitely hot. Which means it hadn’t been there long at all. She turned quickly, surveilling the entire room. “Q?” Kathryn looked around. “Are you here?” This was definitely something he would do. Silence. Which was definitely not something he would do.

 

Kathryn picked up the cup and sniffed at it. Oh, it was coffee alright. Gingerly, she tasted it. Yep. It was coffee. Exactly the way she liked it. She picked up the rose, giving it a smell, and walked to the replicator for a vase.  Kathryn set it aside, where she could see and smell it. She’d chalk it up to Chakotay likely apologizing for the ridiculous fight over duty shifts they’d had the other night. She quirked her mouth in a crooked smile and sat down to begin her days’ work.

  
  


Kathryn’s shift passed without complication. They were currently mapping this sector of space and hadn’t met anyone. Thus far, it seemed they were in an area that was sparsely populated, if not at all. None of the planets supported any type of life, or they were too early in their evolution to be of note. A lot of science, not a lot of diplomacy. She waited until second shift arrived, gave the bridge to the Lieutenant Commander on duty, and left.

 

As she turned into the turbolift, she was joined by Chakotay, who also had just finished his shift. Kathryn stretched her sore neck and took a deep relaxing breath. “Thank you for the flower, this morning,” she told him. “Apology accepted. It was a stupid argument.”

 

Chakotay started to tell her that he had no idea what she was talking about, but, when she’d accepted his non-apology and admitted the argument was irrelevant, he stopped.  “If you want, we can put Megan and Jenny Delaney on different shifts,” he told her, acquiescing to her request.

 

Kathryn shook her head, “No, you were right. They think much better, together.” Much like we do, she mentally added.

 

Once the turbolift opened on their deck, they stepped out.  She automatically headed for her quarters, but stopped at her door and turned to him as he walked to his own quarters, next to hers. “Good night.”

 

He smiled and pointed at her in good nature. “Don’t forget to eat.” Chakotay smiled when she did, and stepped into his living room once the door opened.

 

Kathryn keyed in her code and stepped through the door.  She stretched, unzipped her jacket, slipped it off, and tossed it over the closest chair.  Kathryn walked to her replicator and ordered a bowl of tomato soup for dinner. She turned to set the hot bowl on the table when she stopped and her breath hitched. There, on the table, was a pink and yellow-tipped rose. Just like the one on her desk that morning.

 

She set the bowl down, picked up the rose, and sat herself in the chair she’d been standing next to. Where had the flower come from? This one couldn’t have been from Chakotay. He’d been with her all day and they’d walked to their quarters together. Kathryn smelled the flower, the soft scent pleasant to her senses. She thought back. If this one hadn’t been Chakotay, chances are good the first one wasn’t, either. Now, she was worried that this was a new tactic from Q.

 

She wouldn’t raise a warning flag just yet. She’d wait to see if anything else happened before mentioning it. With that thought in mind, she finished her soup then curled herself up with a book for the rest of the evening.

 

_ There was peace in her world, at least for a few days. Then, another fight. This one over .. well, to be honest, she didn’t care. The fighting was masking what they were really feeling. And that was being cooped up and not truly expressing themselves. And now others were fighting. The argument Tom and B’Elanna had had that morning nearly took out her hull plating.  Good grief, what was it going to take to make it stop?  _

  
  


Kathryn walked into her ready room, her eyes immediately going to her desk, as they had done every morning for the last week. She sighed when, there, in front of her terminal,  was the now-customary cup of coffee and rose. She still had no idea where the flowers were coming from. One greeted her every morning, and every evening, when she went to her quarters. As beautiful as they were, it had to stop. Kathryn needed to get to the bottom of it. She tapped her combadge. “Commander Chakotay to the Ready Room, please.” He replied that he was on his way, so she sat and waited.

 

The doors slid open and he strode in, “Captain?”

 

She stood and walked around her desk, rose in hand. “Do you know anything about these?”

 

Chakotay shook his head and questioned with his eyes. “I don’t.”

 

Kathryn watched him closely, for any reaction, and his was genuine. He knew nothing. She sighed, “There’s been a rose and a cup of coffee on my desk, every morning, and a rose on my table, every night, in my quarters, for the last week.”

 

“Could it be Q?” he asked.

 

Kathryn shook her head. “That was my first thought, but it’s not like his ego to stay silent if gifts are involved.”

 

He nodded that she had a point. “Perhaps you have another potential suitor.” Judging by the look on her face, Chakotay felt he was very lucky she wasn’t holding a phaser just now. He started to smile, but stopped himself and it ended up being more of a smirk. “Do you want to take the ship to red alert?”

 

It was all she could do to not slap him silly. “Can you take this seriously? What I’m more concerned with is how are they getting into my private areas. No one has the security code to my quarters but myself, you, and Tuvok.” Kathryn crossed her arms. “I’m not doing it; you’ve denied it; and I don’t see Tuvok being the sneaky kind.”

 

“Well, you never know. He could be harboring feelings for you underneath that Vulcan control,” Chakotay replied a slight joke in his voice.

 

_ Oh, for the love of Kirk. Do I have to do everything? _

 

Before Kathryn could react, the ship suddenly banked sharply and threw her balance off completely. Right into Chaokay’s arms. He held her for a moment, before she pushed away and they both ran onto the bridge as the Red Alert sounded.

 

“What the hell was that?” Kathryn asked.

 

Tom, at the Conn, turned. “I have no idea, Captain. We didn’t hit anything, nothing is shooting at us. It’s almost like we… hit a speedbump.” 

 

She turned to Tuvok, who agreed. She turned to Harry, who told her there was nothing on the scans. She pulled down her jacket and sat. “Stand down Red Alert.” Kathryn glanced at her First Officer, who sat in his chair next to her.

 

She leaned over. “Connected?”

 

Chakotay shrugged. “No idea.”

 

_ They were proving to be tough. She needed a new plan.  _

  
  


The next morning, Kathryn walked into her ready room, expecting the coffee to be waiting along with a rose, and was actually disappointed to find there was nothing there. She sat down and stared at the empty spot where they would have normally been. Kathryn jumped when the door chimed and told whoever it was to come in.

 

She straightened when she saw it was Chakotay. Carrying a cup of coffee and a rose. Her eyes met his with a question.  “Changing tactics, Commander?”

 

He shook his head. “These were on my desk this morning,” he explained as he handed both items to Kathryn. “Someone is changing tactics, it seems.”

 

She placed the rose in the vase that was becoming a fixture on the corner of her desk and cupped her hands around the warm coffee mug. “What do you make of it?”

 

“Well, it’s definitely not Q,” Chakotay said with a smirk, “I’m not his type.”  He took a breath and, with hesitation, plunged into a theory he’d come up with that morning, when he found the rose and coffee on his desk. “Could someone be trying to play matchmaker?”

 

“For us?” Kathryn asked, incredulously. “Why would we need a matchmaker?”

 

_ Seriously?! If she could have face-palmed, she would have. Ok, that’s it. We’re not moving until this is solved. So she stopped. A bit abruptly, but, that’s what inertial dampers were for.  _

 

The Red Alert klaxon sounded as the ship shuddered to an abrupt stop.

 

“Captain!” B’Elanna Torres’ voice urgently sounded from her combadge, “the warp drive just… went offline.”

 

“For no reason, B’Elanna?” Kathryn asked as she and Chakotay both ran onto the bridge from her ready room. 

 

“I can’t find a reason, but, believe me, I’m looking.”

 

“Keep working,” she told her Chief Engineer. “Let me know if you have any updates, Janeway out.” She looked to her conn officer. “Do we have Impulse?”

 

He shook his head. “No, Captain. We’re dead in the water. No wind in our sails,” he continued the metaphors, “we’re becalmed.”

 

Kathryn nodded. “I get the idea. We’re stuck.” Wait, could that be it?  She turned to Harry, “Could we be stuck on something?”

 

Harry’s fingers danced over the interface of the sensors, waited a moment, then shook his head. “Nothing on the sensors.”

 

Kathryn quirked her lips and walked to Ensign Kim’s panel to see for herself. She shook her head; he was right. She looked out the viewports in front of them. Nothing. There was nothing there. They’d simply stopped. But why?

 

She realized they were still at Red Alert and ordered it to be stood down. Stumped, Kathryn moved around and sat in her center seat. She looked at Chakotay. “Any ideas?”

 

He had none. At all.

  
  


Six hours later, they hadn’t moved, other than the natural drifting, and Kathryn was bored. She sat on the couch in her Ready Room, watching the stars just … sit there. Engineering couldn’t get the warp core back online; they couldn’t get the impulse engines working. Three hours ago, she’d offered to go outside and push. Chakotay thought that was hilarious. She’d banished him to his office. It was closer than the brig.

 

Kathryn sighed and figured she may as well try to get some work done. She moved to her desk, sat down, and turned on the computer. The screen was black, with the exception of the words: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Kathryn blinked. Now she was seeing things. Her eyes open again, the message was still there. The Hell?

 

She reached for her combadge, but stopped when the message backspaced out and a new message appeared, as if it was typing itself. WHAT IS REALLY STOPPING YOU? IT’S NOT STARFLEET. Kathryn’s hand again moved to her combadge, but, when it was tapped, no connection opened. She stood; now, this was looking more and more like Q. “Show yourself!”

 

Kathryn reached and turned the computer towards her. The monitor now read: I’M NOT Q, BUT I AM TIRED OF THE FIGHTING. She sat. Fighting? Who was she fighting… then realization dawned. Kathryn pulled the computer toward her, thinking perhaps she could talk back to whomever it was that had now made contact. Hesitantly, almost not wanting - but needing - to know, she typed: “Are you Chakotay?”

 

As soon as she’d typed that, Kathryn’s Ready Room door opened and Chakotay himself came in, carrying his own computer terminal. Embarrassed, she reached to close hers, so he wouldn’t see what she typed, when she saw the message had changed to simply: NO.

 

Chakotay stopped at her desk and hesitated before setting his computer down. He pulled up one of the chairs and sat. “Kathryn,” he said softly, “I … I think I was right. When you sent me into my office. I’m sorry for laughing, by the way.” His eyes sparked with humor. “It was funny, though.”

 

Kathryn  couldn’t help but smile slowly. “You were saying?”

 

“Right,” Chakotay continued, “when I sat and opened my computer to work,” he lifted the lid and music continued from where it had stopped when he closed the machine.

 

_ Now’s your moment, Floating in a blue lagoon _

_ Boy, you better do it soon, No time will be better _

_ She don’t say a word, And she won’t say a word _

_ Until you kiss the girl _

 

Her breath hitched at the lyrics, but she couldn’t recognize the song. Kathryn stood and walked around the desk and leaned down next to him as they listened. She glanced toward to his face. “I don’t...”

 

“I looked it up. It’s from a Twentieth Century-film called The Little Mermaid. Kiss the Girl.”   Chakotay  turned to face her and backed slightly, not realizing she was so close. “The uh… song. It’s called …”

 

Almost of its own volition, Kathryn’s hand moved to his cheek as she whispered, “kiss the girl.” Inwardly, her mind was screaming:  _ what are you doing?  _ But, Kathryn decided, for once in her life, she wasn’t going to listen. Her lips met his and she kissed the boy.

 

How many years had he wanted this to happen?  Chakotay stood as he  returned her kiss, tenderly, at first. Then, as she deepened the kiss, he drank from her lips, eagerly, like a man dying of thirst. He regained his senses and pulled away. “Kathryn, I’m..”

 

Kathryn shook her head. “If you are about to apologize, don’t. I kissed you.” She rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand. “I should have done it years ago.” 

 

“What does this change?” He had to know. After this moment, he couldn’t, wouldn’t, go back to the way things were.

 

Kathryn lay her hands aside his face and gently rubbed his skin with her thumbs. “Everything.”

 

“What about,” he glanced at the door. “If we do this, I don’t want to hide it.”

 

She sighed. “I need to stop being so,” she stepped away from him and walked up the steps to sit on the couch, “stubborn.”

 

Chakotay  smiled and walked toward her. He knelt in front of her and took her hands. “Don’t stop being stubborn, Kathryn. It’s one of the things I love about you.”  That slipped out a bit too easily,  Chakotay  thought, his eyes widening slightly.

 

Kathryn smiled and leaned forward, pulling his hands to her lips. “Oh, God, Chakotay, I’ve wasted so much of our time being stubborn.” She leaned and kissed him again. 

 

Suddenly, her Ready Room door swished open, “Captain! Tuvok asked me ...oh, sorry!” Tom Paris stopped just inside the now-closed door, “I, uh… sorry.”

 

Kathryn and Chakotay separated quickly as he spun on his knee to face the door. She just leaned her arms on her knees and looked up, not letting go of one of her First Officer’s hands. “Yes?” she said, honestly annoyed at the interruption. 

 

“We’re moving again.” 

 

Kathryn turned to the viewports behind her and saw the stars now streaking by.

 

She looked back at Tom, who still stood in front of her door, now with a smug look on his face. “Thank you, Lieutenant.” 

 

“My lips are sealed, by the way. Much like,” he gestured toward them.

 

“If you value your life, I wouldn’t finish that sentence, Thomas.” Kathryn sent a glare his way. 

 

“Right.” Tom turned to go as the door opened, then gave a thumbs up as the doors closed.

 

Kathryn shook her head and grinned. “He’s trouble, that one.”

 

Chakotay laughed softly as he stood, pulling her up with him. “You are the one who brought him aboard, as I recall.”

 

She laughed as they walked down the steps to her desk. “And I’ve regretted that decision every day, since.”

 

Kathryn looked out at the stars, thinking it odd that they started moving the moment she and Chakotay gave in to their feelings. She turned to reach for the computer, just now noticing the song was no longer playing. On the screen, instead, was the sentence: IT’S ABOUT DAMNED TIME.

 

“Chakotay, come look at this.” Kathryn moved the screen so he could see it. 

 

He looked at her. “Who the Hell?”

 

A pink rose with yellow tips suddenly materialized on her desk, in front of them.  Kathryn gasped and picked up the rose. She looked at the man she’d been pointlessly keeping at arms’ length for so long. “I don’t think it’s who,” she whispered. 

  
  


_ She hummed along, her systems running smoothly. Her family was protected and content, again. Everything was as it should be. Any arguments were now had in the line of duty and rarely because of someone holding back. She was happy; her family was happy. All was right in Voyager’s world.  _

 

_ fin _


End file.
